If you are working and celebrate Christmas

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I am not a nurse...yet. I am in nursing school. However, I do work in healthcare and I do work Christmas day. Today is a very special day to be working. While we are missing precious time with our families it is important to not forget why we are here. Sometimes that is easy to do when all of your family is at home opening presents, eating yummy food, and spending time with eachother. The best thing we can do is realize how important we are to the patients and family who have to spend their Christmas in the hospital too.

This morning was very special to me. I spent some time hugging and holding the mother of a babies in intensive care. It literally made my day and in that moment I didn't want to be anywhere else. Even if a hug is all I can offer for the time being, it still makes a world of a difference. We all make a big difference and impact peoples lives every day. While we are working we can't forget that these people are our family too. I am blessed to be in a position that I can make a difference even if it means working the holiday. Cherish and be thankful that you have the opportunity to do the same.

I want to say thank you for working the holiday. I also want to wish you and your family a very merry christmas. Lots of love

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.

As an RN for the past 35 years, i have worked a lot of Christmases, and I have to say I never minded it. Never. My kids grew up with a mother who is a nurse and they understood that sometimes they didn't come first. I know that very few patients WANT to spend Christmas in the hospital and it always felt like a privilege to be with them on that day.

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Thank you for your wonderful advise. I am also human and sometimes I wish that I would not be given a shift when it is Christmas, but I realize the important role that we have to do for our patients regardless of the date.

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well said. I also worked christmas eve and christmas day, the patients we care for need our love and help 24/7 365 days a week.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

I have been a nurse for 34 years .....my children knew their Mommy was a nurse and took care of sick people who couldn't go home.....they also "knew" when they were little that Santa made special trips for those who work in hospitals either the day before or after Christmas. When they were little little I manipulated the advent calendar......so they didn't "know exactly when "Christmas" was.:shy:

If I was coming home that morning my hubby who keep the babies happy until I got home, so we all experienced that wonder at the same time. My family has always held celebrations when I or my sisters (all nurses)could attend and if I could not attend they understood.

It's the nature of the beast.

Your post was heart felt and the very reason that nursing, even after all these years, still touches my heart and is the reason I love being a nurse.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

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Specializes in peds palliative care and hospice.

I work at a pediatric hospice and while I did my fair share of grumbling, it was an honor to work with my kiddos and give their families some good memories...No one knows what the next day will bring!

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Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.

I worked night shift in a prison infirmary for about four years. We used to celebrate the holidays by lightening the moment. Our saying:

"Nothing says 'Merry Christmas' like perimeter lights and razor wire."

Some Christmases inside the fences were quiet, and others were a constant stream of injuries.

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.

I worked virtually every Christmas from my twenties on because I felt it was only fair. When I was single, I'd fly home when I had a weekend off and my mom and I would have our holiday then. That way, the people with little kids were able to be off.

After I married, I worked in a shelter for abused women and their children or as a psych nurse. I always offered to work Christmas day. We'd go to midnight Mass Christmas Eve and I'd go straight to work when I was at the shelter. We'd have our Christmas when I got home at about 5:00 pm and that was good.

When I worked at the state hospital, anyone who worked an actual holiday got double time plus an extra day off or triple time and no extra day. I'd do whatever our budget needed.

Both work environments were heart rending (or could be) at holiday time and we always felt needed.

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I guess I am an outsider. I don't celebrate most holidays or care about them. , I work them if I have to or need the money but because of that I am not too understanding of people who whine about having to work holidays etc( yes , it sucks to miss out on parties and get togethers but that is part of the working world ). I don't celebrate on alternate days either. Nor is that possible for most people .

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Working the holiday never really bothered me. I have always worked 3-11p so I was able to open gifts with my family in the morning. On the holidays I did have to work, I missed the family holiday dinner. My husband would always get a plate together, and bring it to me at work before they went home and they would all sit with me (if I was able to squeek out a few minutes to wolf down some food) as I ate my dinner.

I'm the one often to offer to switch holidays so a co-worker who has little ones can be home all day with them. Like I said, never really bothered me.

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